I had a lot of fun seeking out and setting up shots for Summer Colours Week‘s pink day…even managed to sneak one blue and one green in, too [I’ll put those up later]. I tried to represent a mix of outdoors [flowers and travel] and things I love doing in summer [yard sales, crafting, collecting bits and bobs at the beach].

Pick a bunch of lemons.
Juice them.
Add sugar [or honey/stevia/agave/whatever sweetener you like].
I usually do about 1 c. sugar to 2 c. lemon juice. I think most people like it sweeter.
Mix well. I have a locking pitcher so I just close it up and shake like crazy for a minute or two.

This is your lemon starter — it’s good in the fridge for at least a week, probably much longer, but ours never lasts that long.

Fill a glass 3/4 way with fizzy water [or regular water, if you don’t like the fizzy] and a couple ice cubes.

Top off with the lemon starter — this is highly subjective, but general guidelines are as follows:

The other day, I met Chad for lunch and when I got home I realized my keys were missing! I lose my keys about once a decade, and it seemed about time, so I wasn’t too too upset. I called Chad and asked if he’d be able to leave work early to come let me in the house, sat on the porch for a bit, then realized it was probably going to be awhile before Chad showed up, because 1. he was in the middle of work and 2. he is slow like that sometimes.

So I decided to garden. I got my flowers put in out back and weeded the herb garden. It felt pretty good and it’s nice that when I glance out the kitchen window I see marigolds instead of waist-high weeds.

At about exactly the time I was finished, Chad showed up and let me in the house, where I found my keys sitting on my desk.

So my tips for when you are locked out are:

1. Keep calm! There are worse things than being forced to stay outside on a nice spring day.
2. Be patient and find something to keep yourself occupied. You will get in eventually and you can get some stuff done in the meantime.

[This is their third year. Last year they fruited for the first time and were so, so close to being ready for me to eat, then we went to Portland and the raccoons completely stripped them while we were gone. Very rude!]

Bottlebrush, check!

[I planted this sorry little thing two years ago and it is still only about a foot high and just now starting to finally bloom. Go bottlebrush!]

There’s a house on the corner with a little white picket fence and the sweetest garden that I’ve been admiring since we moved here. I recently properly met the owner at a meet-up a mutual friend puts together — very random!

I sometimes peek through the knots in her fence — forgive me, her garden is so lovely and I am so curious! — and admired her magical little back yard — I’m envious of her green adirondacks that blend in like camouflage.

Her next-door neighbor has a spectacular tea tree, which is something I tried to grow a few years back but managed to kill within a few weeks. Maybe it’s time to try again.

I am thinking about this weekend, it is GLORIOUS out. I have some work to finish up, meeting a couple folks at the small dog park this afternoon and testing out the vintage floral sundress that had the split boob seam that I sewed up — hopefully it will hold, the fabric defines threadbare. I figure the park isn’t too far from the house to expose myself for too long riding back if need be, and I’ll bring along a cardigan just in case.

I am hoping tomorrow involves some more road tripping, Chad has been frazzled all week so I don’t know if that will happen. There are plenty of lovely outdoor spots around here so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we didn’t make it all the way over to the ocean. Though I’d really like to. I cannot get enough of the Pacific.

Does the juxtaposition of red and purple always make anyone else think of Flowers in the Attic? Or is that just me?

Bonus photo of my daughter’s cat, Casey. He is a giant beast and if you come over, you have to pet him the whole time you are here because any break you can give me from his constant, pathetic meowing for attention is desperately needed. Thankfully the sun finally came out, because warm pavement is about the only thing besides direct contact that that shuts him up.

I’ve been forgetting to take a shot of this for ages, I bought it at the cutest little shop here in Alameda (To Herb With Love at Oak and Encinal) back before Christmas and I wear it almost every day. harpy owns a similar one, her lovely polaroid reminded me.

#2: surprise flowers

My friend brought her son over to pick some lemons [still going strong, give me a holler if you want to come pick some up] last week and surprised me with this enormous, gorgeous bouquet of birds of paradise from her garden.

#3: daffodils from TJs

You know it is spring when these babies show up. $1.29 for a bunch of ten, which is just enough to surprise my daughter and make myself happy, too.

Vintage milk bottle scored for practically nothing from Muse Reuse on Webster almost immediately after I decided I really need a vase that isn’t meant to hold an enormous birthday bouquet.